Beyond the Innerbelt: How Addressing Historic Injustices in Public Policy is Key to Community Revitalization

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of speaking at the All-Akron Student Engineering Program for their Winter STEM Fest, where I presented on a topic near and dear to my heart, on how addressing historic injustices in public policy is key to community revitalization. Students engaged in a charrette on what to do with the Akron Innerbelt, where they were tasked with coming up with big, bold ideas on how to repurpose the space. Their project teams worked well together and produced some great ideas, but afterwards I wanted to challenge them to look beyond the footprint of the Innerbelt, and see its true impact on what was there before: predominately Black neighborhoods displaced by its implementation.

After passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, which authorized the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate, cities across the country began to see new highways built along their city centers, with a goal of increasing traffic connectivity and business in downtowns. Yet too often these interstates were routed directly through Black communities, demolishing neighborhoods and displacing families, businesses, churches, and both social and economic hubs that were once the bedrock of these communities. While the thought was that those displaced by these interstate construction projects would simply move to the suburbs, the results were none too kind to communities of color. Racial segregation in housing and practices such as redlining kept African Americans from moving into many suburban neighborhoods, so while the suburbs experienced a significant boon, Blacks were left out in the cold, forced into concentrated areas of disinvestment, all while so-called urban renewal projects, touted as removing and replacing blight, wiped away decades of history, culture, and community.

Akron was no different, with the Innerbelt’s construction removing thousands in Black neighborhoods in West Hill and Oak Park from their homes and cultural centers. Howard Street, an African American hub of social activity in the 1930s-60s which boasted many minority businesses, most notably Hotel Matthew’s, Akron’s first Black-owned hotel that hosted famous artists such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Cab Calloway (to name a few), was decimated by urban renewal in the 1970s. These policies had generational impact. Look at Howard Street today and you’ll know exactly what I mean. Examples like these were not unique, with the same practices seen in other neighborhoods, from Lane/Wooster, to Opportunity Parkway, to Grant/Washington, displacing more communities of color. Their stories still resound today, yet remain unanswered.

So the question of ‘what should be done with the Innerbelt?’ is in fact misplaced. What should be done to rectify the decades long impact of historic injustice, which swept away Black neighborhoods and robbed families of their culture and dignity is the more appropriate query. Replacing the highway with something that does not serve this purpose would turn a deaf ear to the cries of their legacies, still yearning for redemption.

After engaging with the students I was honored to share some of my ideas for revitalizing this area, from reconnecting our divided communities, to rebirthing forgotten neighborhoods with affordable and desirable new housing, to targeted grants and incentives for Black businesses, entrepreneurs, and home owners, all while drawing from the wells of the rich history and culture that still echoes across this concrete path, to breathe new life into its veins.

There’s much more to come on this front, and I’ll share the pièce de résistance of my proposal at a later date. But for now I’m hopeful for the opportunity of impactful change. To right a wrong, and turn a chapter. This was my closing thought to the students. My hope is they will take this message and impact the future, searching beyond the surface, and finding…the stories. The stories of those who have gone before us, but whose words are ever lingering for those who will listen.

Special thanks to my friend and colleague, AASEP Program Director Jonathan D. Simmons, for inviting me to speak at this inspiring event. #ulyssesmcneal #communityrevitalization #WhyNotAkron #rubbercityrising #elevateakron #greatstreetsakron #Akron #community #revitalization #thebestisyettocome #CommunityDevelopmentIsEconomicDevelopment